Introduction to Parasites and Symbiosis

Vocabulary flashcards covering beneficial microbes, symbiotic relationships, and various parasitic organisms from the lecture transcript.

Parasite

Any organism that makes its living off of another organism.

Mutualistic symbiotic relationships

Relationships where organisms live inside an animal and actually help their host animal live a happy, healthy life.

Human microbiome

The ecosystem of organisms living inside humans, referred to by some scientists as our forgotten organs.

Fecal transplants

A procedure where doctors put good gut bacteria into people who are diagnosed with bad gut bacteria.

Commensal symbiosis

A relationship where one of the participants benefits and the other participant does not care.

Eyelash mite

Also known as follicle mite; tiny little arthropods that hang on to the base of hair follicles and eat oils excreted by sebaceous glands.

Delusional parasitosis

A real condition that has nothing to do with parasites except that a person thinks they have them because hearing about them makes their skin crawl.

Protozoa

One-celled organisms, many of which can move on their own and enter a host through drinking water or insect saliva.

Nagleria fowleri

Also known as the brain eating amoeba; found in warm fresh water, it enters through the nose to feed on forebrain nerve tissue, resulting in death ninety eight percent of the time.

Elephantiasis

Also known as lymphatic filariasis; an infectious tropical disease caused by parasitic roundworms passed through mosquitoes that causes horrifying swelling in limbs, breasts, and genitals.

Crawly bugs

A classification of parasites that feed on hosts from the outside, including bed bugs, scabies, body lice, and genital crabs.

Botfly

A parasite that lays its eggs under host skin, where they hatch and feed on the host until they are ready to erupt.

Candiru

A tiny parasitic catfish found in the Amazon River that loves the smell of urine and can swim up a urethra.